Let's Stay 17 Forever
by Freckleface247
Summary: Lily and the Marauders are 17yearsold. Are they ready to be of age? Can they handle the responsibilities of being an adult in such a dark time? Time will be the true test. eventual LJ
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Let's Stay 17 Forever

**Summary:** During their 6th year Lily, James, and friends go through changes. A Dark Wizard is coming to power. Are they ready to come of age? Can they handle the responsibilities? Time will be the true test.

**Author:** FreckleFace247

**Rating:** T, PG-13

**Disclaimer:** I own none of the characters you recognize. Everything recognizable belongs to J. K. Rowling.

**Chapter One**

_That's Evans to You_

Lily Evans sighed peacefully, content to lie in bed all day. Blinkingly she opened her eyes, momentarily blinded by the morning sun. She lay there for a few minutes, relishing the feeling of ease and peace of not having to rush anywhere. Slowly, she moved to push back the covers but stopped as she started to sit upright – something wasn't right. There was a pillow, or something incredibly heavy, pushing down on her stomach. She slid her hand down her nightshirt and screamed.

There was a growth on her stomach – a big one. Lily gasped. This must be a dream she thought frantically. I can't be pregnant. Not _this_ pregnant _this_ fast! I wasn't pregnant when I went to bed last night!

It was in this moment that Lily took a good look around the room. This wasn't her dorm. This wasn't her bed. Where was she? Then she heard a voice.

"Lily-Flower, are you up? I have a surprise for you." The voice said sounding incredibly familiar.

Lily could faintly hear footsteps through her panic and then the room's door opened. A man came through the door carrying a tray of breakfast foods, which was apparently his surprise for Lily. He walked over to the bedside table and put down the tray, never looking at her, fully concentrating on not spilling anything. "Lily honey" he gasped, looking at the redhead who was currently hyperventilating on the bed. "What's wrong? Morning sickness again? What's got you so upset?"

"Lily. Lily sweetie. Lily – wakeup."

Lily Evans woke up with a start. Heavily panting, and still crying she hysterically looked around the room. "Thank Merlin" she sputtered recognizing her familiar dorm. Looking up saw two sky blue eyes staring back at her, and she smiled through her tears.

"Are you alright?" The owner of the blue eyes asked with genuine concern.

"Erm, yeah. Just a horrible dream, Emma." Lily answered her best friend.

"Do you want to talk about it Lils? It might make you feel better. You know I'm always here for you."

"Maybe later. What time is it anyways?" She said wiping her tears away.

"Time for breakfast. I say we go get ready and head to breakfast – I'm starved."

* * *

Arriving in the Great Hall, the two friends moved to sit in their usual seats. Lily sat for a moment, and took a few deep breaths. Looking up, she felt a feeling of tranquility wash over her as she took in the beautiful blue sky, all thoughts of her dream gone from her mind. Grabbing for some toast she started to put some jam on them.

"Today's going to be a good day." Lily announced. "Don't you think it is?"

"It'd be better if we didn't have Slugy first." Emma answered.

"Professor Slughorn isn't that bad Em."

"You only say that because you're brilliant in Potions – and he likes you." Emma said with a hint of jealousy.

"You know who else likes you Evans?" A voice said. "Me" the voice continued, not giving her a chance to answer.

"Potter. Grow up" Lily said stiffly. Looking up, her face turned gray at the sight of James Potter's face and something clicked in her mind.

"Are you okay Lily? You don't look so great." Emma said shooting an accusing glance at James.

"Err, yes. I'm perfectly fine," she said distractedly, jumping out of her seat. "I think I'll just – just go for a bit. I'll see you in Potions."

"Great move Prongs." Sirius Black, Potter's best mate said clapping him on the back. Taking a seat he said "Not only does she not like you, but you make her physically sick."

"Shove it Padfoot." James muttered staring at the spot Lily had just vacated.

* * *

Lily walked through the front doors as calmly as she could. Memories of her dream flooded her vision, nearly causing her to walk straight into a tree. Sitting down hurriedly Lily went over the dream again.

This wasn't the first time she'd had a dream so real – a dream where she had no clue where she was. In this one she'd been pregnant. And she knew exactly whose child it was – it was Potter's. She hadn't seen the man's face, or at least recognized it in the dream, but as soon as James spoke in the Great Hall she knew it was him in her dream.

It wasn't the fact that it was James Potter who she'd been dreaming about that worried her. Even though he was practically her sworn enemy, the fact didn't bother her. What bothered Lily was the increasing number of dreams she'd been having that included him.

Lily sat under her favorite tree for a few minutes mulling over her thoughts. Jumping up, Lily ran to the library to look something up.

* * *

"Lily, can I talk to you?" a voice said, practically whispering.

Lily looked up from the book she was skimming. "I guess Potter." She said never returning to the book.

"Err, well, I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry for being rude this morning." James said looking at the redhead.

But Lily didn't respond.

"Are you feeling better?" James continued weakly.

"What are you talking about Potter? Of course I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" Lily snapped. "And why are you apologizing? Its – not something you usually do" she pointed out with a slight frown, suspecting he was up to something.

"Well – erm, your face turned sort of gray this morning when I made that comment."

"Oh, that? I had just realized something I'd completely forgotten to do, and I panicked."

"Oh." James said unconvinced. "Right."

An awkward silence descended fully, leaving the two sixth years with nothing to say. Flustered, Lily reverted to scanning her book, stopping at interesting points.

James stood there for a moment, not quite sure what to do. Should he stand there awkwardly or go back to the Great Hall. Looking at his watch, he decided to use the ten minutes to finish his transfiguration essay, rather than rejoin his friends in the Great Hall. He'd rather not face their questions.

"Would you mind if I sat here Lily?" James asked starting to sit down.

"Evans." Lily replied sharply, stopping James halfway.

"Beg your pardon?" he said standing upright.

"Don't call me Lily. That's what my friends call me."

"Erm. Right."

"Do you mind terribly if I sit here Evans?" he said, placing emphasis on her name.

"Will you stop talking to me?" Lily asked exasperatedly.

In answer, James sat down while miming locking his lips together and throwing away the key.

"Very mature Potter." Lily said rolling her eyes.

* * *

After a few minutes, Lily closed her book with a snap. James looked up at his peer. She was staring intently, as in disbelief at the book she had been reading. He almost spoke, but stopped. The light was peeking in through a window behind Lily, effectively giving her a golden halo around her vibrant auburn hair.

Coughing to clear his throat, James said, "Lily, we should be getting to Potions."

"Oh, right." Lily said distractedly.

"Did you finish all two feet that Slughorn assigned on that potion?" James started to make conversation.

"I thought you locked your lips, remember?" Lily said in an aggravated tone.

"But you forget love, you said to be quiet if I sat with you. And well, we are clearly not sitting anymore. Now are we?" James said with a wink.

In reply Lily whipped out her wand and shouted a hex at James. When he ducked out of the hex's way, she let out a frustrated growl.

"Sometimes I hate you." She snapped.

"Only sometimes?" James said with a smirk. "I knew you couldn't resist the Potter Charm."

This time, when Lily hurled her hex, James wasn't quick enough to dodge it. This resulted in James tripping flat on his face.

"Yes. Only sometimes Potter – Sometimes I loathe you."

"Whoa. Sorry." James said, quickly getting to his feet. "I forgot. You're not much of a morning person."

"No, actually I love the morning."

"Well then, you must be grumpy because you didn't eat breakfast." James said reasonably. "And guess what?" he asked.

"What?" Lily said, trying to remember the banishing spell.

"I came prepared!" James said smiling, and with a flourish he pulled out a napkin tied up, and handed it to Lily.

"What's this?" Lily asked.

"Breakfast." Said James.

"Oh. Well, thank you Potter." Lily stammered, taken off guard by his thoughtfulness, and smiling a tad.

"Merlin! Is that – it is. Ladies and Gents!" James yelled to the crowded hallway pointing at Lily, "Ms. Lily Evans smiles!"

"Potter!" Lily said giggling.

"Okay, okay. I'll stop. But only if you –"

"Potter, I will not go out with you!" Lily said eyes flashing.

"Someone's a little full of themselves this morning." James mused. "I was merely going to ask you to be my partner today in Potions."

"And why would I do that?" Lily asked.

"Because Slughorn said that today's potion would be incredibly hard."

"And?" Lily prodded.

"And you're the best in the class – besides Snivellus that is."

"Oh alright Potter. Only if you promise to work." Lily said. "I want to beat Severus Snape for once – but on the condition that you don't sabotage Snape's potion. Deal?"

"Deal." James said, grabbing Lily's hand to enthusiastically shake it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I own none of the characters you recognize. Everything recognizable belongs to J. K. Rowling.

**Previous Chapter**:

"_Oh alright Potter. Only if you promise to work." Lily said. "I want to beat Severus Snape for once – but on the condition that you don't sabotage Snape's potion. Deal?"_

"_Deal." James said, grabbing Lily's hand to enthusiastically shake it._

**Chapter 2**

_Two R's or One?_

The rest of the walk to Potions was an uneventful one. Lily and James managed to get there before everyone else, and claimed the best table for themselves. Reading the instructions on the board they both got out their books and turned to the correct page to get a head start.

"Potter, why don't you set up our cauldrons, while I get the supplies?" Lily said, already walking towards the storage cupboard.

"Did I honestly have a choice there?"

"Not really" Lily said with a smirk.

Moments later, Emma, Sirius, and Remus entered the room to see their friends sitting together. Lily and James didn't notice and continued their conversation. Meanwhile their friends looked dumbly from one another.

"Do you two see what I see?" Remus asked in disbelief. "Lily and James sitting at a table together – _voluntarily –_ and not hurting each other."

"We must be imagining things." Emma muttered.

"Are you two feeling alright?" Sirius asked, not trying to mask his astonishment.

Lily and James looked up in surprise.

"Yeah, why wouldn't we be alright?" Lily questioned?

"Oh, I don't know" Emma said. "Just that usually when you two come in contact with each other without supervision there's chaos."

"We decided to combine our genius and work together. That way we'll win today's contest. Slugy promised dinner in London with a mystery guest, remember?" James answered excitedly.

"Lily," Emma said with a frown, "Who am I supposed to work with now? You're always my partner."

"Well just ask Remus nicely, I'm sure he'll help you." Lily said.

"Actually, I think I'll work with Sirius." Emma said winking at her best friend. "What do you say Black?"

Sirius' reply was cut off though, as Professor Slughorn entered the room. "Good morning my promising minds. Ready to create some potions?"

"Good morning Professor Slughorn" the class replied in a monotone.

"Let us try that again, with a little more enthusiasm shall we? Or do we need to make a potion to give us all a little more zest this morning?"

"Good morning," The class sang out, remember the foul taste of the potion from a previous class.

"Alright then. Today we will be making –"

* * *

"Pst! Lily" James whispered.

"What Potter?" Lily asked.

"Will you go out with me?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Must I give you a reason every time?" Lily said, trying to slice a root into equal slices.

"Yes." He said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Why?" Lily answered, still fumbling with the root.

"Because I need to know!" James frantically whispered.

"Well, I won't go out with you because –"

"Wait," James said effectively cutting her off. "You can't use the same excuse twice."

"Are you serious?"

"No. I'm James. That's Sirius" James said, pointing at his best mate.

"You're infuriating."

"That's your reason?"

"Well actually, I was just saying it, but… yes, I suppose it is my reason."

"Hmm. Okay then." James muttered taking out a spare bit of parchment to write '_infuriating_' on. "Two R's or one?"

"Oh Merlin, help me."

"Merlin won't help you in this dungeon Miss Evans." Professor Slughorn said suddenly and quite loudly causing Lily to jump. "No need to be so jumpy Miss Evans. Both yours and Mr. Potter's potions look quite promising today."

Lily had been so immersed in her potion and conversation that she hadn't heard the professor come up. "Oh, well, thank you professor." Lily said slowly, still recovering from her shock.

"Do you think you'll be choosing us to dine with you and your mystery guest Professor?" James asked sweetly.

"As I said, both of your potions look extremely promising today. Perhaps I should assign you two as partners for the remaining two weeks of class. You seem to be able to keep Mr. Potter under control Miss Evans. Perhaps this way my dungeon will stay clean." Professor Slughorn said walking away, the last bit nothing more that a musing barely audible.

* * *

"Tell me everything!" Emma said excitedly as she and Lily exited the Potions dungeon.

"Tell you what exactly?" Lily asked completely bewildered.

"Tell me why you left breakfast this morning. Why you and James worked together today. Tell me since when you've liked him."

"Excuse me?" Lily said indignantly. "Like Potter? You must be insane. Did you inhale too many fumes in there?" she said jabbing her thumb over her shoulder towards the Potions dungeon.

* * *

James turned around to his mates after seeing Lily point backwards in his direction and asked, "Do you think she's talking about me?"

"How would we know James? We're standing right next to you." Remus said logically.

"Well, she just pointed in my direction." James said with an exasperated tone.

"She could've been pointing at either one of us, all of us, down the hallway, the dungeon, or just miming something while she talked." Sirius said quite seriously.

James just glared.

* * *

Meanwhile, ahead of the Marauders, Lily said, "Well Em, this morning when I left breakfast it was because I realized something from my dream. I realized that the bloke in my dream was Potter. Something in his voice jogged my memory this morning. I went out to our spot for a moment to think about my dream and what it might mean… That reminds me though, why don't we go out to our spot right now and I'll tell you all about my dreams."

With that the two headed outside to talk. Settling down under their favorite tree, Lily performed a charm which created a soundproof sphere, so they could talk privately.

"Wait, before you sit down, can you do that charm that creates those comfy chairs?" Emma asked.

After performing the charm Lily said, "Okay, so let me start from the beginning."

"That's a good place to start" Emma commented with a grin.

Lily continued on ignoring her mate's comment. "Remember at the beginning of this year when we won the match against Slytherin and there was that colossal party?"

"Yeah." Emma said not sure where we were going. "That was a fun night. Didn't we played truth or dare with the Marauders?"

"Mhm hmm." Lily confirmed. "Well, while you were gone on your dare to go and mail an anonymous love letter to Snape, I was dared to kiss James. I would've killed Sirius if it weren't illegal to do so. But anyways, I did it. The thing is though… I didn't hate it. Don't get me wrong, I hated the idea of whom I was kissing, but I don't regret the kiss at all for the physical feeling."

Lily stopped here, and took a breath. "That night, I had a dream. Not just any dream though. I dreamed that it was the next day and James asked me out. Not that special I know. But the weird thing about the dream is that everything seemed so real. Nothing was unrealistic and everything was just – plausible… I don't know how to explain it. Anyways though, when I woke up the next morning, I remembered every word that he had said."

"What makes it really odd, is that that next day, Potter asked me out. Not just asked me out, but said exactly what he had said in my dream. I thought it was weird, but I put it off to being a combination of déjà-vous and it being the thousandth time he asked me out. You're bound to have a habitual way of asking by then."

"But my dreams didn't stop there. Originally, they were sporadic. But now, they're happening more, and more frequently. They're starting to scare me now because they're coming true slowly."

"Last night's dream gave me a fright. Nothing like the happy dream before where I found that I was Head Girl. The only downside to that dream was that Potter was Head Boy. But last night I had one of those dreams where you dream that you wake up. Well I woke up in the dream and I was feeling really peaceful. But then when I went to push back the covers, I realized I was pregnant! And who walked in through the door? James Potter. Is that not scary?"

"Gosh Lils! You must be going crazy with the dreams. Why didn't you tell me?" Emma gushed.

"Well – I thought that maybe my subconscious was trying to tell me that I was attracted to Potter. But then this morning when I heard Potter's voice – Something clicked. I remembered something from divination – oh how I hated that class.

"You took divination?" Emma said, trying to think back.

"Only for a week." Lily said with a laugh. "I thought it was rubbish so I switched to Arithmancy. But that's a tad off topic. I remembered how there was a chapter on dreams. So I went to the library and looked up dreams."

"And…?" Emma asked impatiently.

**A/N: Thanks to my 3 reviewers. Lolipop5551, I took your critiques and I fixed them. I agreed with you completely about the 1st sentence. It was awkward, but I was just excited to post and didn't take the time to fix it. I everyone enjoyed this chapter. Feel free to tell me either way. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I own none of the characters you recognize. Everything recognizable belongs to J. K. Rowling.

Previous Chapter: _"You took divination?" Emma said, trying to think back._

"_Only for a week. I thought it was rubbish so I switched to Arithmancy. But that's a tad off topic. I remembered how there was a chapter on dreams. So I went to the library and looked up dreams."_

"_And…?" Emma asked impatiently?_

**Chapter 3**

_Future, Past, & Then Back to the Present_

"And I'm dreaming of the future." Lily answered her mate.

"The future? You can see the future? Oh Merlin Lils! You're going to have a love child with James Potter!" Emma nearly screamed.

Lily took a deep, cleansing, breath and thanked Merlin that she had put a silencing sphere around them as well as the one to ward off intruders. "I know Em. It's scary. But I'm not seeing the future. I'm seeing possible outcomes. And I only see things that involve me and Potter."

"In my dream about becoming Head Girl though, I felt something. There was something different about James. He looked at me like I was going to break or something. I hope nothing is going to happen, Emmie." Lily confessed.

"Oh Lily, I'm sure nothing's going to happen." Emma said, leaning forward to give Lily a huge hug. "Besides, that's the great thing about the future. It's not set in stone. Just because you see it happening doesn't mean it's going to happen – even if the world's best seer saw it, it wouldn't be certain to happen."

"I hope you're right." Lily said, weakly smiling.

"Now tell me about Jamesiepoo. Do you fancy him?" Emma said with a huge grin. "You know you two would be great together."

"He's such a prat though. I wish I didn't fancy him. He's just so incredibly –"

"Hot? Desirable? Shagable?" Emma interjected.

"Erm, actually, I was going for annoying. But those do fit." Lily said with a giggle. "He just needs to grow up a bit more."

"Mhm. Well, it's almost time for our next classes." Emma said looking at her watch. "You're coming to lunch today, right?"

"Save me a seat."

* * *

All too soon, the last day of classes came. Earlier in the week, the 7th years had left, and the whole school had had the End of Term Feast.

The mood was far from ecstatic in the Gryffindor Common room that evening though. Feeling anything but happy, the sad Lily Evans had scared the rest of the Gryffindor's into their rooms by 10. So, feeling that they should be reflecting the six Gryffindor 6th years sat in the comfortable chairs by the fire.

"Where are Claire and Lizzie?" Emma asked somewhat interested in the absence of the other half her and Lily's dorm.

"Erm, I think they went to visit some friends in Hufflepuff." Lily said not really paying attention.

"Are you two still playing the same game of Exploding Snap?" James said looking up from a game of Wizarding Chess where he was royally pummeling Peter. "The whole point of that game is to make the cards tumble and explode, burning off your eyebrows."

"Well, Sirius is just too good at this game." Lily whined.

"What can I say? I'm good at everything." Sirius said wiggling his eyebrows.

At this Remus snorted from behind his book. "I seem to recall something you're not good at Sirius."

"And what's that Mr. Know-It-All?"

"Fishing." Remus said simply, and the marauders, minus Sirius burst out laughing.

"We promised we wouldn't speak about that." Sirius said through clenched teeth.

"No, Sirius, you begged us not to." James replied "But that means nothing, seeing as it's a hilarious story."

"Even I was good at fishing Sirius." Peter said with a grin that was promptly wiped off after he glanced and the glowering Sirius.

"Well what happened?" Lily asked smiling widely.

"Well, every summer, we end up spending a whole week together. Two years ago, we were at Remus' house, and he lives just outside of a small muggle village." James started.

"Mhm, and right in the center of town, is a good sized lake. I suggested that we go fishing, and the lads agreed." Remus added.

"And Sirius –" Peter started excitedly.

"Hold your hippogriffs Pete." James said not wanting Peter to ruin the story. "Well, the three of us had never been fishing before so Remus had to show us how."

"Both of you know how to fish correct?" Remus asked the girls, who nodded in agreement. "Well first James cast his line, then Pete. But when Sirius went to cast his, well, he managed to catch something –

"But it wasn't a fish!" Peter squeaked.

"Right, he had caught his arse!" James said between laughs.

"Caught it well too – he ripped a hole right through his jeans and boxers." Remus said, wiping tears from his eyes.

"Well, hardy har-har." Sirius said pouting. With that said, he pushed back his chair. In doing so though, he shifted the table, toppling the 4-foot wall of Exploding Snaps.

This of course did not improve his mood. It did however reduce his fellow 6th years to literally roll on the ground at the sight of his singed hair and eyebrow-less and eyelash-less face.

"Oh come here Sirius" Lily said, after regaining her composure. "I'll fix your hair."

Sirius made his way over from across the common room to sit between the two girls. His close proximity made both cough from the smoke, rising form his now severely fried hair. After a few moments and a few well-chosen spells, Sirius's hair was back to normal.

"Thank you. I don't know what I would've done without my hair." Sirius said.

"You're such a girl Sirius." Emma teased.

And that's how the evening progressed. The Gryffindor's shared stories, laughing at the Marauders' pranks, their goofs with the opposite sex, mishaps doing pranks, and stupid things they'd all done through the years.

"Say have you lot gotten your apparition licenses yet?" Lily inquired.

"James has. He got his Winter Holiday. The rest of us haven't though. Pete's mum doesn't want him to get it yet, and Remus just turned of age last month." Sirius answered for the group.

"Mum said she might let me this summer though." Peter said looking hopeful.

"What about you Sirius?" Emma asked.

"Well, I haven't actually tried it yet. James and I were busy Spring Holiday planning something so we never actually got around to it." Sirius explained.

"Oh, well you three should make appointments for the 15th of July. That's when Lily and I are going for our licenses." Emma said excitedly. "It's not too hard is it James?"

"No, it's not too hard to master. You just need to pay attention to what you're doing." James answered. "But that would be fun if we all met up. We could make a day of it in Diagon Alley."

"Sounds great." Emma said with a yawn. "Balls – It's already 3. I'm going to head to bed."

"Me too." Said Sirius and Remus simultaneously.

All three got up and started towards the stairs. At the foot of the staircase though they turned; Sirius and Remus to give Peter a meaningful glance, and Emma to inquire if Lily was coming up too.

"No, you go on up ahead. I'll be up in a bit." Lily said pulling a blanket closer, and gazing into the fire.

James moved from the floor to the couch next to her. "So Lily, how's life treating you lately?" James said trying to break the silence.

"Pretty well James, thanks." She said softly.

"James?" He said with wonder.

"That's your name isn't it?" Lily said blushing, embarrassed to have slipped up in her usual routine.

"Well, err, yeah. But you always call me Potter. The only time you use 'James' is when you say my full name. And that's generally when you're royally pissed off at me."

"Well, recently I decided that I was being immature calling you by your last name and I decided to change that. Do you not like it? I suppose I could revert if you'd prefer."

"No. I like it. It makes me feel like you don't actually hate me."

"I don't hate you." Lily replied. "You're just not my most favorite person in the world."

"And who would that person be?"

"Why?" Lily asked.

"So I know who I have to beat to get the title." James said with a grin.

"You're so cocky sometimes."

"Only sometimes?"

"I was being nice."

"Well who is you favorite person?"

"I'm not really sure." Lily said, pausing. "I could tell you who my least favorite is."

"I don't want to know if it's me." James said jokingly.

"Don't worry, it's not. My least favorite person in the world would be this new 'Dark Lord'."

"Hmm. Well he's definitely my least favorite person. Second would have to go to Snivellus though." James said lightening the somber mood.

What happened next, neither one of them expected.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** I own none of the characters you recognize. Everything recognizable belongs to J. K. Rowling.

Previous Chapter: _"Don't worry, it's not. My least favorite person in the world would be this new 'Dark Lord'."_

_"Hmm. Well he's definitely my least favorite person. Second would have to go to Snivellus though." James said lightening the somber mood._

_What happened next, neither one of them expected._

**Chapter 4**

_Friends First_

Lily laughed at James' silliness of making such a joke. Suddenly she was quite aware of how close he was to her. Everything seemed so quiet, and all either one could see was each other.

Lost in her brilliantly emerald green eyes James leaned in closer to Lily. At the same time Lily brought her head closer to James and they were both enveloped in a sweet kiss. After a minute, Lily realized what she had done and pulled herself away.

"Potter," she said, snapping back to reality. "We can't do this."

"Why not?" He asked.

"I just can't do it. It's not the right time."

"Not the right time? Well when's the right time Lily?" James asked.

"Not now. I'm not ready. We're not ready."

"We're not ready? Really? Because I think I'm ready for this."

"Maybe you think you are, but believe me. We're not. I'm not at least."

"We need to be better friend first. I'm not saying that this will never happen. I'm just saying not yet. I want us to have a solid foundation first."

"Friends first?"

"I've never done that before."

"And how long have your relationships lasted? Any longer than two months?" His blank face confirmed her philosophy."Exactly My point."

"Okay, fine. I'm going to be the best friend you've ever had Lily Evans."

"Is that a threat or a promise?" Lily joked, trying to lighten the now serious mood.

"It's a vow." He said seriously.

"Okay, well goodnight then James."

"Goodnight Lily-Flower."

* * *

That night Lily didn't get any sleep at all. She spent the whole 3 hours tossing in her bed. Why didn't she just let James continue to kiss her? It had felt so good. She liked him didn't she? Well what was stopping her? She decided that it was because she wasn't ready to have a serious relationship with a bloke until she was sure he was a good choice. Why waste time on a lost cause? James needed to prove to her that he was ready for a serious relationship too. She just needed time.

James lay awake the entire night too. The same questions paraded through his head as they did Lily's. Why did she stop? She's not ready? What's that supposed to mean? Did he go too fast for her, was that what she meant? Friends first. Well, he supposed that he could do that. Being friends was better than enemies, which was even worse than nothing. At least he was making an improvement.

Morning came too quickly for the castle, particularly for James and Lily, for they hadn't had a wink of sleep. Both James and Lily were the last of their dorms to drag themselves down the stairs after making sure everything was packed. Without looking, Lily practically walked straight into James turning as she went to exit the common room.

"Wotcher Lily-Flower." James said in a raspy voice.

"Opps. Sorry." Lily replied with a yawn and proceeded to walk slowly down the stairs.

"Wait, before we go down to breakfast we need to do a charm." Lily said pulling out her wand and pointing it first at herself and then at James.

Seconds later, their tiredness was gone, and neither looked like they hadn't slept.

"Is that how you always look great?" James asked incredibly.

"Erm, yeah I guess." Lily replied blushing.

"What spell is that? I've never heard of it." James inquired.

"Actually, I don't know it's name. I learned it a couple years ago when I was reading a charms book. It's quiet a handy charm – it's been a lifesaver really." Lily said.

"Well, I guess I know who to go to next time I spend all night studying or writing a paper."

"James Potter studies? No way." Lily said jokingly.

"Actually I do," James answered. "I just don't advertise it, and I generally do it when I'm not in public. It's not good for my image you know."

"And here I've been all these years being infuriated with how you never study and still got top grades. I thought it was all natural and was very vexed that you didn't use your talents." Lily said incredibly.

"The things you learn as a friend." James said smiling. "Would you care for some breakfast Miss Evans?"

* * *

Breakfast was a noisy affair, as it was the last meal for the castle together until next year, and summer was a long time for students who lived far away. James and Lily were among the last to enter the Great Hall. The walked briskly down the room, and slid into their usual seats next to their friends.

"What did you two do last night, eh?" Sirius said waggling his eyebrows in a suggestive manner.

"Nothing remotely relevant to what you're implying Sirius." Lily said laughing.

"What's so funny?" Sirius asked indignantly.

"You look like you have caterpillars crawling on your forehead." Emma answered for Lily, joining her laughter.

"She's right mate. Those things are wild looking." James said smiling.

"You're all pricks." Sirius said with a smile. "But stop changing the subject, what did you and Miss Evans do last night?"

"We talked Sirius, not that it's any of your business anyways." Lily answered.

"Well that's good," Remus said, "Especially since your both in two pieces."

"What did you two talk about?" Emma asked clearly wondering if it was about the dreams.

Lily sent her what she hoped was a meaningful glance and said, "we decided to be friends. It's been childish of us to be so petty."

"So you're not going to yell at each other anymore?" Peter said hopefully.

"I didn't say that" Lily said with a grin.

* * *

On the train ride home the six Gryffindors sat together in a compartment. The train had only departed ten minutes previously and already the boys were discussing whether or not they should use the last of their pranking supplies on Snape. Meanwhile Lily was rummaging through her bag looking for the Daily Prophet and Emma was reading a novel her mother had sent her this morning for the ride home.

"You know, I had really hoped that you lot would have grown out of pranking by now." Lily said with a sigh, still rummaging.

"There's a problem with that though Lily," Sirius replied, "We don't ever want to grow up."

"Right, I'd much rather live in _Neverland_ than grow up." James said.

Lily sat up, triumphantly brandishing the Daily Prophet. Turning to James she said "You know what _Neverland_ is?"

"I did take muggle studies for two years Lily, and contrary to what you believe I actually am quite brilliant." James said.

"Modest too." Lily added.

"What's that?" Sirius asked. "You tell me that all the time. What is it?"

"Something you don't possess an ounce of Sirius." Remus said with a grin.

"Oh my." Lily said, her smiling fading as she read the front page of the Prophet.

"What is it?" James asked.

"There were three attacks last night." Lily said.

"Attacks?" Peter said dumbly.

"Yes. Two on Muggle-born families, and one a muggle that is involved in the muggle government."

"Who?" Emma asked putting down her book.

"Well do you remember John O'Brien? He graduated two years ago from Ravenclaw. His family… This dark lord and his followers killed O'Brien, his wife, and their four-month-old daughter last night. It says that O'Brien worked for the Ministry." Lily said sadly.

"Who was the other family?" Remus asked.

"I don't recognize this name – Susan Oliver and her husband Arthur. Both worked at St. Mungo's… But they were both murdered in their sleep last night." Lily said with a shudder. "And the muggle family? Well they were neighbors to the Olivers, and when they saw the followers outside they called for the coppers… That was their big mistake I guess. Trying to help."

"Things are starting to change." James said.

"Yeah, I guess Dumbledore wasn't kidding when he said there are dark days coming." Emma said.

"Are you okay Sirius?" Lily asked.

"Err, yeah." Sirius said shaking his head to rid himself of whatever demons were tormenting him.

"Lily," James said softly.

"Yes?"

"Promise me something?"

"What is it?"

"Promise me you'll be careful this summer." He said sincerely.

"I – I promise." She said.

"I mean it." James said.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** I own none of the characters you recognize. Everything recognizable belongs to J. K. Rowling.

**A/N: Hi everyone. Thanks for reading. I'm sorry but I won't be able to keep up the daily postings. I honestly won't have time to write or even post this weekend with the SAT's and working 13 1/2 hours. Hopefully I'll be able to post by Monday. If not, then definitely by Tuesday. Sorry for the wait!**

**Previous Chapter:**

_ "Promise me you'll be careful this summer." He said sincerely._

"_I – I promise." She said._

"_I mean it." James said._

**Chapter 5**

_Of Promises and Surprises_

The rest of the train ride home was considerably quiet. As they approached the station the friends exchanged addresses so they could visit by Floo powder or apparate once they had their licenses. They also reminded each other of their date to go to Diagon Alley.

When the train arrived at the station, James said, "Lily, hold up a moment."

"Yes?" she asked.

"Do you think you and Emma would be interested in spending time at Potter Manor this summer? Maybe a weekend or something?"

"I don't know. I'll ask Emma. Thank you for the invitation though." Lily said as she turned to go out the door. "Have a wonderful summer James."

"You too Lily. Expect a lot of mail." James said with a smile.

"I'll hold you to that." Lily said stepping off the train.

* * *

"LILY!" was the first thing Lily heard as she stepped through the gate to rejoin the muggle platform. 

"Mum! I missed you." Lily said hugging her mother.

"Well you had a funny way of showing that, dear. You didn't send many letters last term." Mrs. Evans said, still hugging her daughter.

"Emily, I think you're strangling our youngest daughter." Mr. Evans said.

"Oh, Richard," Mrs. Evans said, "You just want to hug her yourself. You could've just said that you know."

"Come here then, Pumpkin." Mr. Evans said to his daughter.

"Where's Tuna?" Lily asked heading towards her father to give him a hug.

"She's out with Yvonne looking for a wedding gown." Mrs. Evans answered.

"Yvonne is getting married?" Lily asked.

"No –" Mr. Evans said, looking at his wife "Petunia is."

"Tuna's getting married!" Lily said shocked. "To who?"

"To whom." Mrs. Evans corrected automatically. "And to Vernon Dursley. You remember Vernon don't you? He had supper with us on Christmas."

"When did she get engaged?" Lily asked.

"Right after you returned to school after Winter Break." Mr. Evans answered. "Why don't we talk about this on the car ride home? Your owl is starting to make a racket."

* * *

Once settled in the car Lily asked, "Why wasn't I informed of Tuna's engagement?" 

"I'm assuming then that you didn't receive Petunia's letter that I told her to write." Mrs. Evans said.

"No, I most certainly did not." Lily said crossly.

"Well I will have a word with her this evening." Mr. Evans said.

"When's the wedding?" Lily asked.

"July 23rd" Mrs. Evans replied.

Lily sank back in her seat pouting. Had she been away from home so long that her family didn't see fit to inform her of such important details. Her mother had sent her a few letters during the last term but never once did she mention the word 'wedding' or 'engaged'. Lily couldn't help but feel hurt. She'd make Petunia pay.

* * *

"Father?" James yelled as he took a step out of the fireplace. 

"Welcome back Young Master Potter." The Potter's house elf said excitedly.

"Hi Misty. Where's my father?" James asked, as Sirius came stumbling through the fireplace.

"He's in his study, Young Master Potter." Misty said squeakily. "Welcome Master Black."

"Hello Misty. How are you? Is Cookie in the kitchen?" Sirius asked.

"Yes sir, she is." Misty answered dutifully.

"Well come on Jamesy-boy. I've missed Cookie's cooking." Sirius said galloping towards the kitchen.

"Master Black! How be you? Hungry?" Cookie said delightedly as Sirius plopped himself down on a stool at an island in the middle of the Potter's kitchen.

"You bet I am Cookie. James is too." Sirius said.

"Are you speaking for the both of us again?" James asked as he walked into the kitchen.

"Mah-bee" Sirius said with a mouthful of cake.

"You're incredible." James said simply. Turning towards Cookie he said, "May I please just have an apple Cookie. I want to save room for supper."

"Lightweight" Sirius commented after he took a drink to clear his mouth. To which James just smiled.

"I'm going to go see my father, Sirius, and get our chat out of the way." James said walking out the door. "I'll see you in a bit."

* * *

"Father?" James asked, softly knocking on the door to his father's study. 

"Enter." Mr. Potter said curtly.

James hesitantly opened the door, frantically trying to make his hair lie flat with one hand. "I assumed you would want to speak with me, Sir."

"You assumed right. Be careful about making assumptions though in the future, they could lead to deadly mistakes." Mr. Potter said.

"Noted, and I will remember in the future." James said.

"How did you exams go? Well I expect."

"Yes Sir. I studied very hard."

"That's good. You would still like to be an Auror I suspect."

"Yes, Sir, I still do."

"Well, it's an honest profession. Very dangerous, but I think you'll be more than capable to handle it."

"Thank you, Sir."

"You may go now." Mr. Potter said, motioning for James to leave.

"Good bye, Sir. Shall I see you at supper?" James asked.

"I fear not. I don't believe I shall be dining with you all that often this summer." Mr. Potter said.

"Two more questions Sir."

"Yes?"

"May I invite a few people to spend a week here?"

"As long as no damage is made to the house and the Muggles are not harmed down in the village." Mr. Potter said taking off his glasses.

"And… how are things at the ministry?" James asked.

"Not so great, my son." Mr. Potter said, replacing his glasses. "Enjoy your summer. It may be your last carefree one."

* * *

Upon arriving home, Lily gathered her things and discretely muttered a spell to make them small, and easy to carry. Walking into the house, she felt a weird feeling wash over her. She felt almost as if she didn't belong. 

The feeling didn't go away as she climbed the stairs to her bedroom. Walking into the room she was met with a little girl's room. Her childhood room hadn't changed a bit. It still was pink with a bunny and butterfly border. Her bed was still covered with many dolls, and her shelves filled with primary school books.

Of course, there were a few signs that the room's owner had grown up. There were summer clothes piled in the closet and a box of stale owl treats by the window. Sitting on her desk sat books that she had accumulated through the years. Even the few pictures from her years at Hogwarts that she had sitting on her bureau didn't help the feeling go away.

After unpacking her trunk Lily wandered around the house. She still couldn't shake off the feeling that she didn't belong. There were pictures of her and Petunia on the mantle but Lily basically vanished after she was eleven. How could her parents not have taken any pictures of her during the summer? She felt very left out.

Returning to her room, she proceeded to write a letter to Emma, explaining the feeling and the whole Petunia situation. After finishing the letter, Lily duplicated the letter twice and sent it out with her owl Penny. She hoped that her friends would be able to comfort her and tell her she was being silly about he whole not belonging feeling.

Walking down to the kitchen, Lily found her mother washing the dishes. "Want me to help Mum?" Lily asked.

"That would be great. Thank you." Mrs. Evans said.

"Step back then Mum." Lily said pulling out her wand.

"You can do magic outside of school now honey?" Mrs. Evans said smiling. "You're getting so old."

"Aw, Mum. Don't start crying."

"I won't Lily. I'm just going to miss you girls once you move out."

"We'll miss you too, but we're not going anywhere just yet."


End file.
